Joseph Young enrolls at Houston

We've wasted a lot of words over the past few months on the plight of Joseph Young. Young, if you remember, is the former Providence signee that changed his mind in regards to his desire to attend Providence. After appealing both the NCAA and Providence to be released from his LOI -- losing both -- Young has made the decision that most of us expected.

Young will be attending Houston, opting to sit out a season and lose a year of eligibility all while developing his individual game.

Now, I could go on another rant and throw a tantrum and scream and yell about how unfair the LOI program is or how juvenile Keno Davis is acting. But I've done that, and no matter how much of a hullabaloo I attempt to raise, the fact of the matter is that Young will be wasting a year in order to go to the school he truly wants to attend.

And as much as I disagree with the course of action that Davis and the Providence athletics department took, looking back, this probably could have played out much differently.

The initial stance that the Youngs took was that Joseph wanted to play closer to his Houston home because he had an aunt that was ill. Most people watching from afar, including Davis, believed that Young wanted to play at Houston because his father was rehired by new head coach James Dickey. That, and the fact that the Providence program was going through some serious upheaval.

If Young had come out and said that he wanted out of Providence because of a desire to play at Houston, where his father was Director of Basketball Operations, Davis may have granted him his release. If you remember, took over his father's program at Drake. Honesty is the best policy, and there's no doubt that Davis suspected the Youngs weren't being truthful.

The Youngs, despite what Davis (and many others) believe were false pretenses, still may have had a chance at getting the release before Michael, Joseph's father, decided to spout off to the media. So now, if you're Keno Davis, you have been lied to and publicly insulted by the Youngs.

If you were in his shoes, would you then do them a favor and grant Joseph's release?

I don't condone what Davis did. Far from it, in fact. If Young wanted to play for his father, he should have been granted a release. If he wanted to go to school close enough to his ailing aunt, he should have been allowed to without penalty. Hell, if he didn't like the direction the Providence program was headed, Davis should have cut his ties.

In my mind, what Davis did was inexcusable, made him look childish, and very likely could hurt his ability to recruit in the future.

Davis, and Providence, made the wrong decision.

But the way the Youngs handled the situation on their end created a situation where the "wrong decision" was that much easier to make.

The sad part in all of this?

Everyone is coming out a loser.
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An open letter to Keno Davis

Dear Keno Davis:

You are an ass.

Let me explain.

I know that you kind of got screwed by Joseph Young.

I know how it looks. I'm not an idiot. Joseph Young is a Houston native, and his father worked on the Houston basketball staff last season. But with the uncertainty surrounding Tom Penders' status as the Cougar's head coach, Young decided he wanted to try and play in the Big East. Once James Dickey was hired at Houston and Young's father was retained, Joseph's mind changed about Providence. It also happened to coincide with an aunt he is close to getting extremely sick. Sick enough that she needs a heart transplant.

Yes, Young signed a letter of intent. Yes, he made a commitment to your school. Yes, he is backing out of that commitment, one he felt strongly enough about to sign his name to a legally binding document. And whether or not you believe his story about wanting to spend time closer to his ailing aunt, or you believe he wants to go to Houston play for the program that his father works for, shouldn't matter. To me, those are both pretty legitimate reasons to allow a kid out of his LOI.

The bottom line is that Joseph Young no longer wants to play for Providence. He no longer wants to play for you. So instead of being the bigger man, being the adult, and allowing an 18 year old kid the chance to play college basketball, you are going to force him to sit out a season? Because as of right now, that is exactly the case.

Look, I'm not saying that the Youngs handled this situation perfectly. And I'm not denying the fact there's a possibility that some questionable dealings and shady decision making has gone on behind the scenes. But from where I sit -- which happens to be right next to every Providence recruit, and every assistant from another school also pursuing a Providence recruit -- you are the one that comes off looking bad. You look like the asshole. You look like a bitter coach that can't handle losing a recruit. Explain to me how this makes a high schooler want to play for you?

I have another question for you, coach. If honoring a contract was so important to you, why didn't you finish out the five-year deal you had at Drake? Because a better situation, a better job -- Providence -- came along, right? And this is different than Young wanting to leave ... how, exactly?

Let him go, Keno.

You've made your point: its quite possible that Young's decision isn't as transparent as some believe. We know.

Now let the kid play.

Sincerely, BIAH

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